Recommendations for 'decent' photo printer
Discussion
I'm interested in buying a photo printer to print photo's from our Iphone's and Sony RX100 mk1 camera. Never done it before so know diddly squat about photo printers, compatibility etc etc. My computer is an Apple Air and MacBook Pro (latest retina version) so assume I would need an Apple compatible printer?
Say a budget of upto £500 - what is the latest and greatest!?
Cheers
Say a budget of upto £500 - what is the latest and greatest!?
Cheers
Unless you really want the satisfaction of printing at home, personally I enjoy it, just send them for printing online.
It's far cheaper to get someone like Photobox to print them.
However, I see it like printing photographic colour prints at home in the days of film and chemicals * and treat printing as an extension of my hobby.
£500 budget is reasonable .... are you just looking to print up to A4 or do you want to go bigger?
There's something extremely satisfying about watching big image print, so I'd stick with something capable of printing A3+.
Only really Canon or Epson in the running, as this article shows:
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2014/04/27/best-...
It's far cheaper to get someone like Photobox to print them.
However, I see it like printing photographic colour prints at home in the days of film and chemicals * and treat printing as an extension of my hobby.
£500 budget is reasonable .... are you just looking to print up to A4 or do you want to go bigger?
- * - not that I ever had the funds, space or knowledge to do that!
There's something extremely satisfying about watching big image print, so I'd stick with something capable of printing A3+.
Only really Canon or Epson in the running, as this article shows:
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2014/04/27/best-...
Edited by sgrimshaw on Wednesday 28th October 17:42
sgrimshaw said:
Unless you really want the satisfaction of printing at home, personally I enjoy it, just send them for printing online.
It's far cheaper to get someone like Photobox to print them.
This.It's far cheaper to get someone like Photobox to print them.
£500 will get you 2000 decent prints from photobox... and you'll have run out of ink well before then.
Phooey said:
Thanks for replies. I never really thought of sending them online for printing - thought that printing at home would be much cheaper!
I only want standard size pics - the kind that you get when you take your memory stick to a place like Asda
Photobox* will save you a shed load (speaking as someone who has a photo printer and used photobox for more than a decade - I met the guy that set it up on track - Silverstone - in 2002). Just upload some and get next day delivery.I only want standard size pics - the kind that you get when you take your memory stick to a place like Asda
- There are other online printers
GetCarter said:
Photobox* will save you a shed load (speaking as someone who has a photo printer and used photobox for more than a decade). Just upload some and get next day delivery.
Thanks mate. Out of interest - are photobox the best / easiest online printers or are there any others i should consider?- There are other online printers
eta, regards to quality - is there any difference in image quality between printing online and walking into somewhere on the highstreet and physically giving them the memory card to print from?
Edited by Phooey on Wednesday 28th October 18:06
Phooey said:
GetCarter said:
Photobox* will save you a shed load (speaking as someone who has a photo printer and used photobox for more than a decade). Just upload some and get next day delivery.
Thanks mate. Out of interest - are photobox the best / easiest online printers or are there any others i should consider?- There are other online printers
eta, regards to quality - is there any difference in image quality between printing online and walking into somewhere on the highstreet and physically giving them the memory card to print from?
Edited by Phooey on Wednesday 28th October 18:06
I sell lots printed by them.
Just get some printed - see what you think. I think they do 50 free for noobs.
I always wanted to set up a permanent developing and printing lab in my loft. Had the water put in, a radiator and partially floored. That was in the 90s and Photoshop put a stop to that.
I fiddled access to an A3, or nearly so, 5-colour +black printer. I printed off less than a dozen images. There's only so much wall available for non-domestic images in a house.
I've got a cracking A4 Epson in the loft. Slow, but the images are beautiful, almost as good as you can get at Park Cameras. And doing it yourself cost only a little more.
I fiddled access to an A3, or nearly so, 5-colour +black printer. I printed off less than a dozen images. There's only so much wall available for non-domestic images in a house.
I've got a cracking A4 Epson in the loft. Slow, but the images are beautiful, almost as good as you can get at Park Cameras. And doing it yourself cost only a little more.
Printing for yourself can be both rewarding and frustrating but it may not be cheap at all.
The printers are relatively cheap. For what you want you would likely be highly satisfied with something costing not more than £100 and including scanning capability as well. The printers, at the lower end of the market price bands, are sold as loss leaders for ink sales.
Ink tends to be expensive if you stick with manufacturer inks. Likewise paper. But you should get guaranteed results and a a very long life expectancy - if that matters to you.
Using non-manufacturer ink can be a lot cheaper but may not always offer quite the quality of result (perhaps - no clear cut decisions to be made here) or serviceability of the printer. Manufacturers will claim that their ink will be better at keeping things working.
Either way regular use of the printer - as least daily is good - should help avoid the need for cleaning cycles (uses ink for no purpose other than cleaning) and reduce the chances of things drying out and getting clogged up.
If use is to be irregular and you are using an inkjet printer then the type of ink the printer uses may be a factor. The options are, generally, dye based or pigment based. Dye based MAY be better for long term serviceability being less prone to clogging. I have a dye based printer. It's quite old now. Uses a lot of ink on cleaning cycles but has never clogged on me despite very irregular use.
Using non manufacturer inks is probably fine for most people most of the time if bought from a reputable ink manufacturer form a reputable vendor. Likewise non manufacturer paper - there are some really good and inexpensive (relatively speaking) options around.
For the odd print you want "now" a home printer is great. For larger quantities online is more cost effective and probably less time consuming. In the middle, my wife's favoured option based on past habits, there is Boots from where, as she sees it, you get "proper prints on proper paper".
I like to print at A4 size. I can just about justify the convenience of being able to do that, now and again, at home and experiment. It's just part of the cost of the photographic activity. An A4 print probably costs about 50p for a good non manufacturer sheet of paper and circa £1 for ink (typical colour image) if using manufacturer inks bought at optimal prices.
I hope this information is of some use.
The printers are relatively cheap. For what you want you would likely be highly satisfied with something costing not more than £100 and including scanning capability as well. The printers, at the lower end of the market price bands, are sold as loss leaders for ink sales.
Ink tends to be expensive if you stick with manufacturer inks. Likewise paper. But you should get guaranteed results and a a very long life expectancy - if that matters to you.
Using non-manufacturer ink can be a lot cheaper but may not always offer quite the quality of result (perhaps - no clear cut decisions to be made here) or serviceability of the printer. Manufacturers will claim that their ink will be better at keeping things working.
Either way regular use of the printer - as least daily is good - should help avoid the need for cleaning cycles (uses ink for no purpose other than cleaning) and reduce the chances of things drying out and getting clogged up.
If use is to be irregular and you are using an inkjet printer then the type of ink the printer uses may be a factor. The options are, generally, dye based or pigment based. Dye based MAY be better for long term serviceability being less prone to clogging. I have a dye based printer. It's quite old now. Uses a lot of ink on cleaning cycles but has never clogged on me despite very irregular use.
Using non manufacturer inks is probably fine for most people most of the time if bought from a reputable ink manufacturer form a reputable vendor. Likewise non manufacturer paper - there are some really good and inexpensive (relatively speaking) options around.
For the odd print you want "now" a home printer is great. For larger quantities online is more cost effective and probably less time consuming. In the middle, my wife's favoured option based on past habits, there is Boots from where, as she sees it, you get "proper prints on proper paper".
I like to print at A4 size. I can just about justify the convenience of being able to do that, now and again, at home and experiment. It's just part of the cost of the photographic activity. An A4 print probably costs about 50p for a good non manufacturer sheet of paper and circa £1 for ink (typical colour image) if using manufacturer inks bought at optimal prices.
I hope this information is of some use.
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